Friday, July 04, 2008

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman begins by commenting on the discussion we had on the most recent edition of this show with the award-winning boxing writer and author, Thomas Hauser of SecondsOut.com, about his views on UFC and the mixed martial arts. While we obviously disagreed with most of his views on MMA, we comment on the need to establish the positive social benefits of legalizing and sanctioning MMA. This is not only not done by most of the supporters of MMA, but many of the major MMA promotions actually promote anti-social values and bad sportsmanship.

Next, we preview the much-anticipated rematch between WBO junior welterweight champion Ricardo Torres (32-1, 28 KOs) and challenger Kendall Holt (23-2, 12 KOs). Their first bout, held Sept. 1, 2007, in Torres's hometown of Barranquilla, Colombia, ended with a controversial 11th-round TKO win for Torres. This fight was clearly marred by a wildly unruly crowd, which repeatedly soaked the ring with debris and liquids, even hitting Holt and a cornerman with beer cans.

The Torres-Holt rematch takes place this Saturday night, July 5, at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. It will be televised live in the U.S. on Showtime. It is the most important fight being held this weekend, and should be an energetic, exciting scrap.

On a media teleconference call this week, we spoke with both Ricardo Torres and Kendall Holt about their first fight and what to expect in this one. We also got the comments of promoter Bob Arum about the continuing controversies in boxing, including the much-discussed disqualification last week of Humberto Soto in his fight with Francisco Lorenzo.

We next had a lengthy interview with Nick Lembo, counsel for the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, and a longtime supporter of mixed martial arts. He is attending the annual meeting of the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC), which is going on this weekend in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. MMA is a major topic at this meeting.

Among the topics we discussed were: what the ABC is doing to educate various commissions about regulating MMA in their jurisdictions, why the New York legislature did not recently approve the legalization of the sport, the need for the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act to be extended to MMA, why MMA promoters should work together like even boxing promoters often do, UFC contracts, the establishment by the ABC of an official MMA record keeper, federal ID cards for MMA fighters, clarifications of the MMA unified rules, guidelines for amateur MMA, the ABC deciding to make discussion about MMA a regular part of their agenda along with boxing, and more.

You can listen to No Holds Barred here or here. Just press the play button on the player.

The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by musician Ian Carpenter.

Gladiator Magazine, for in-depth coverage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submission grappling, and MMA, as well as lifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. Gladiator Magazine is available at any major bookstore and online at BJJMart.com or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Monday, June 30, 2008

No Holds Barred: Thomas Hauser on UFC and MMA

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with the award-winning boxing writer and author, Thomas Hauser of SecondsOut.com, about his views on UFC and mixed martial arts.

In a lengthy discussion, Thomas Hauser explains why he does not like mixed martial arts, why he finds it debasing, why he thinks that society should not be encouraging it, and why he thinks New York State should not legalize and sanction it.

This is a must-hear interview, for both supporters and opponents of UFC and mixed martial arts.

To listen to No Holds Barred, click here or here and just press the play button on the player.

The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by musician Ian Carpenter.

Gladiator Magazine, for in-depth coverage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submission grappling, and MMA, as well as lifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. Gladiator Magazine is available at any major bookstore and online at BJJMart.com or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

SecondsOut Radio: Thomas Hauser on HBO and Boxing

On this week's edition of SecondsOut Radio, host Eddie Goldman begins by commenting on this past Saturday's fights between Manny Pacquiao and David Diaz, Humberto Soto and Francisco Lorenzo, and Monte Barrett and Tye Fields, including the controversy in the Soto-Lorenzo fight, which ended with Soto being disqualified for a foul.

In our main interview, we speak with the award-winning boxing writer and author, Thomas Hauser of SecondsOut.com.

Recently he wrote a lengthy and sharp critique called "HBO: 2008", which called into question the direction being taken by HBO, the most important television network in boxing.

That article has been widely discussed, and we continue that discussion, both about HBO and the state and future of boxing, on our show this week.

It is free to listen to SecondsOut Radio, but you must register to gain access to it. Just click here, and listen, learn, and enjoy.